OMG! Text speak finds way into work force

Lauren Acton

Tuesday

Jun 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMJun 30, 2009 at 4:04 AM

"IDK. My BFF Jill?" may have made for a cute Cingular/AT&T commercial. But in the business world, it leaves some employers wondering if you’re right for the job. In an economy where finding a job is tough, teens may be hurting their chances of getting hired this summer even more by using “text speak” on employment applications.

"IDK. My BFF Jill?" may have made for a cute Cingular/AT&T commercial.

But in the business world, it leaves some employers wondering if you’re right for the job.
In an economy where finding a job is tough, teens may be hurting their chances of getting hired this summer even more by using “text speak” on employment applications.

According to a recent study by CollegeGrad.com, a career Web site for entry-level positions, more than 30 percent of teens have admitted to letting text speak — such as emoticons like : ) to indicate a smiley face, or “LOL” to indicate “laughing out loud” — slip onto a résumé.

Employers such as Randy Lohman, manager at The Party Tree, say they find that the words on your résumé mean as much as the words in your mouth. Now, he says, teens must not only have the qualifications, but must nix texting language.

“Teens text a lot,” Lohman said. “Text speak has become their language.”

To Lohman, text speak can determine the jobs his employees get.

“We want our workers to be professional. We don’t mind if they use text lingo like ‘LOL’ and ‘brb’ with each other,” he said. “But when they are in front of customers, it is disrespectful.”

That is why when Lohman says he sees text lingo appear in a résumé, he strongly reconsiders hiring an employee. Although Lohman said text speak has not been used in the workplace in recent years, he has seen and heard text speak occasionally in the past.

“This is a business,” he said. “It is a job and they need to act well when working. If I see text lingo in a résumé, it will probably be a problem at work. I make sure it is not a problem before I hire them.”

Cody Collier, an 18-year-old freshman at Concordia University in Nebraska, said he knows the importance of language in the workplace. He worked this past year at Parkway Pointe movie theater in Springfield.

“I think text language in résumés is disrespectful,” Collier said. “It is so hard for anyone to find a job right now, that, hopefully, they won’t mess things up by being disrespectful. If they want a job, they should not be using ‘text talk.’”

Some forms of text speak can help businesses run smoothly. But employees should have the support of management first.

Brent Moore, general manager of McDonald’s on Clearlake Avenue, uses text speak to his advantage in the workplace.

“We do abbreviate phrases at McDonald’s as if we were texting,” Moore said. “If we speak entire phrases, our business would be a lot slower than it is now.”

However, Moore said using texting phrases on a résumé is not acceptable.

“We will teach you our phrases,” Moore said. “If cell phones are not allowed, the phrases you would text are not allowed. We have our own McLanguage, and that is the only one we will use.

"If any other text speak enters the workplace, we have a problem. If they keep up with our McLanguage, things will run smoothly. It is all they need to use.”

Moore said if any other texting phrases appear on a résumé, it could strongly hurt the applicant’s chances of getting a job.

“I have never seen it as a huge problem, but if you are applying for a job, hopefully you are smart enough to know better,” Moore said.

Collier, however, knows how difficult it can be to avoid texting phrases in a workplace.

“In a résumé, you take your time to make sure you have presented yourself in a respectful and appropriate way,” Collier said. “Sometimes, when you are just talking, it can slip out. Anyone who needs a job these days will avoid it. Jobs are hard to find.”

CollegeGrad.com advises teens to avoid using text speak on a resume, and in spoken language while at work.

Lohman said that is a rule he also uses with his employees.

“I don’t think you would walk up to some of the older customers at The Party Tree and talk that way to them, so why would you put it in your résumé?” Lohman said. “If you can’t do a résumé in a respectful way, how are you going to be as an employee? We want to hire people who are good kids. Talking to other people your age or employees, maybe it is OK, but I don’t see why it would ever be in a résumé.”

Collier agrees.

“If you need a job, you do not need to use text speak,” he said. “Why would you waste the employer’s time by being so rude and disrespectful? When you get a job, you are supposed to be mature. Text speak is a teenage thing, not a business thing.”

Lauren Acton is a senior at Lutheran High School in Springfield. This story originally appeared in the State Journal-Register's "Voice" section, which is written by and for teens. Read more at the Voice's Web site.